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Anatomy and ultrastructure of mycorrhizal associations of neotropical Ericaceae

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Abstract

Ericaceae are obligatory associated with symbiotic fungi forming several, distinctive categories of mycorrhizas. While ericoid, arbutoid, and monotropoid mycorrhizas are known since many years from ericads of the northern hemisphere and the ericoid mycorrhiza also from Australia, a further mycorrhizal category with hyphal sheath, Hartig net, and intracellular colonization was described by us recently and termed cavendishioid mycorrhiza because it was found on Cavendishia nobilis, a species belonging to the Andean clade (Vaccinioideae) of Ericaceae. As the previous findings indicated a correlation between the mycorrhizal category and the systematic position of Ericaceae, we tested the hypothesis that other ericads of the Andean clade might also form cavendishioid mycorrhizas, while ericads occurring in the same area but not belonging to the Andean clade might not. Mycorrhizas of 20 different ericaceous species, 15 belonging to the Andean clade and 5 to other Vaccinioideae or Ericoideae, were sampled in the tropical mountain rain forest area of South Ecuador and investigated by light and electron microscopy. All the 15 members of the Andean clade ericads displayed a hyphal sheath, as well as inter- and intracellular colonization by hyphae as was found on Cavendishia previously. The five species not belonging to the Andean clade ericads displayed only intracellular colonization by hyphae and hence were typical ericoid mycorrhizal. Ultrastructural studies revealed Sebacinales and ascomycetes as mycorrhiza formers in both associations even within one single cell. The results thus support the hypothesis that the Andean clade of Ericaceae forms mycorrhizas distinct from the arbutoid category and most likely presents an independent evolutionary line in the Ericaceae derived from the ericoid mycorrhizas, justifying the new term “cavendishioid mycorrhiza”.

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Acknowledgments

We thank James L. Luteyn and Paola Pedraza for the identification of the plant material. We are grateful to Ingeborg Haug for critically reading earlier drafts of the manuscript. The study was carried out within the DFG research project FOR 402-2, whose financial support is highly appreciated. We thank the NCI for providing research facilities.

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  1. Spezielle Botanik und Mykologie, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 1, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Sabrina Setaro, Ingrid Kottke & Franz Oberwinkler

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  1. Sabrina Setaro
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  2. Ingrid Kottke
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  3. Franz Oberwinkler
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Correspondence to Sabrina Setaro.

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Setaro, S., Kottke, I. & Oberwinkler, F. Anatomy and ultrastructure of mycorrhizal associations of neotropical Ericaceae. Mycol Progress 5, 243–254 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-006-0516-7

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